Waif
by Kilrez
Summary: OC. One of River's friends from the academy drops in. Literally. Summary is worse than story.
1. Of shoes and Ships

Waif 

Chapter one- Of Shoes and Ships

Disclaimer: the right hallowed Sir Joss Whedon and Tim Minear are Really Nice People. They also created Firefly. These two facts may or may not be related. I also ask that the reader does not take offence at this writing, and that they know that I make no money from these endeavours. Also, the chapter titles are from Lewis Carroll's 'The Walrus and The Carpenter'

-

Sitting at the head of the somewhat rowdy dinner table in the kitchen, the captain briefly tuned out of the thread of conversation. Looking over his laughing, amiable crew, he had one of those moments of perfect contentment. Smiling, he paused in his eating for a moment and indulged for a moment in the quiet pride that came with having such a well trained, tight knit crew.

Inara locked his gaze, matching his smile, and Mal ducked his head to return his attention to his food. Wash finished the anecdote he had been telling and there was a ripple of laughter around the table. As Kaylee reached for some sauce and Zoe responded to her husband's story, Mal had a sudden flash of premonition. His head shot up, only to find the scene before him remaining absolutely normal. Well, almost. After a moment, he noticed that River had a look of something bordering pain on her face.

'What is it captain?' asked Book, noticing Mal's slightly wild look. The rest of the table fell silent looking at him. Mal opened his mouth to explain feeling he had had a moment before, but then an immense pressure seemed to envelop him. Gasping, he tried to draw breath into his lungs as his ears radiated shards of pain. From a long way away, he heard the worried 'cap'n?' from Kaylee. Then with a pop and a rush, the pressure released. Mal flopped slightly as a strong wind swept through the kitchen. River had fainted into her food.

Now chairs were tipping over as crew members hurriedly rose. With the wind, a body had appeared seemingly from thin air and thudded hard into the wall. Whoever it was slid to the floor, and laid on her back motionless. Simon was there first, the captain quickly recovering to kneel at his side. Everyone else clustered around.

It was a lanky, barefoot, teenage girl, her long, streaked blond hair covering her face. As the doctor brushed it back, it became apparent that, despite her lack of movement, she was not dead. Blood dripped out of her nose and she made small whimpering sounds as she attempted to suck in air through an open mouth. Not looking away from his patient's wide green eyes, Simon gave his diagnosis, even as he began to check for broken ribs. 'She's winded, probably from smacking the wall like that. Kaylee, can you run to the infirmary and get my red bag please?' Without pausing to breathe as the mechanic nodded and dashed off, Simon now addressed his patient. 'Relax, try for small breaths.'

There were choking sounds, but no breathing. Kaylee returned, the unzipped bag in her hand. Simon barely acknowledged her as he dug quickly through it and withdrew something that looked like a stiff white balloon, with a mouth piece attached to it. He fitted the mouth piece into her mouth and proceeded to pump air in and out of her lungs using the apparatus. After a minute, she pushed him away and struggled to sit up, rasping a bit as she took a few deep breaths. Looking at the people clustered around her, she managed to gasp out a thanks, then wiped the blood from her nose off on the sleeve of her dark blue cotton shirt. 'Don't sit up, you might have broken something' fussed Simon.

'I'm fine doc, you all were just going a bit faster than I expected.' She had become more alert now, and a single hand placed flat on the floor gave indication of preparedness to run.

'Well that's all OK then. Oh, just one thing. What in rutting hell are you doing on my ship?' demanded the captain, less inclined to be gentle than the doctor. 'She flew' murmured River, who had quickly regained consciousness. 'Shut it crazy girl' muttered Jayne, at the same time as the captain raised a questioning eyebrow at the teenager in front of him. 'It's a long and complicated story that none of you are going to believe' she shifted uneasily.

'Try us'

'I teleported here.'

'It wasn't that long.' That was Wash, craning to see around the captain. The girl shrugged then winced. 'We should get you to the infirmary, you might have internal bleeding.' The doctor interceded, a rare firmness in his voice that made it more than a suggestion. Mal nodded permission. 'Can you stand?' Simon asked her. A look of uncertainty crossed the girl's face and she made a valiant effort to rise. Shaking his head, Simon sent a look to the captain, who rolled his eyes. 'Jayne'

At the single word, the mercenary stepped forward and easily lifted the teenager to her feet with a hand under each arm. She grimaced in pain at his touch, but did not make a sound and stayed unsteadily on her feet when he let go of her. Somehow, despite the fact that it was now obvious that she could barely stand, she seemed ready to bolt. At every movement of someone towards her, she would go to pull away, only just controlling herself.

With Mal supporting her on one side, Simon on the other, and the rest of the crew trailing curiously behind them, they made a very slow journey to the infirmary, where the girl cautiously lay down on the table. Simon began to prep the one scanner that _Serenity's _infirmary boasted. 'Who's your pilot?' she asked Mal. Wash raised a hand as the captain looked at him. 'The jump will have scrambled the systems a bit. You won't be on course any more.' She addressed him almost apologetically, her voice weak from the blow she had taken.

'I'll go look at it' replied Wash, ducking out of the somewhat crowded infirmary. 'Lay back' commanded Simon, bringing the scanner to bear. She complied and he gently pushed her shirt up to reveal her flat stomach. As he ran the ultrasound over her skin, staring fixedly at the screen, the captain studied the girl. Her head was laid back against the pillow and her eyes were closed. She looked pale and weak. It reminded him of something, although he could not pinpoint it for the moment.

'I'm Malcolm Reynolds, and this is my ship, _Serenity._' He spoke, having realised that no real introductions had been made.

'They call me Zephyr, because of my tendency to stir up air when I jump from place to place. And the only thing I own now are the clothes on my back.'

'They take everything' whispered River from where she crouched outside the door.

'Hands of blue can be cut off my sister' replied Zephyr without looking up. River nodded thoughtfully, her eyes wide. Simon reacted somewhat more strongly to this statement. 'You're from the academy' he accused, taking the scanner off her skin. She opened her eyes, met his stare, and gave a single nod, muscles tensed to scramble in case this admission stirred up trouble.

Around the room there were varying degrees of shock at the affirmation. The bare feet and the clothes clicked into place, Mal realising that they were a sort of institutional uniform. Seeing their looks, Zephyr decided to explain her presence more fully. 'I have no memories,' she started. 'Before a certain time, about two years ago, I have no memories. I have been in the academy all that time. I guess that they erased them to keep me there...' her eyes misted over and she ceased to speak.

'But if you can teleport, how can anyone keep you anywhere?' asked Kaylee when it became clear that the girl was not going to continue. 'I can only teleport if I have a point of reference. I... I found out a few days ago that River had escaped somehow. So I figured that anywhere she was had to better than where I was. And I came here.' There was a long moment's pause. 'You're not crazy' said Simon, half a question, half a statement.

River blew a raspberry at her brother from where she crouched. Zephyr smiled for the first time. 'Luckily they didn't want me for my brain. Didn't stop all the lovely experiments though. 'm afraid I'm a bit weak at the moment. You helped there captain, thank you for the boost.'

Mal abruptly remembered where he had seen her look before. When River had first come out of the cryo box, she too had worn the slightly sick and pale look. Too sick and pale to use her own energy to teleport apparently.

'That was that pressure right before you appeared?' he asked, trying to keep the recrimination out of his voice. Inara tilted her head on one side as she looked at the captain, realising the origin of his 'premonition' before. 'They never found out I could do that' Zephyr mumbled almost wistfully, seemingly staring into the past. Snapping back to reality she turned a suddenly piercing gaze on the captain. 'I'm sorry; I won't do it again. You just happened to be the clearest signal near to River.'

Mal nodded his acceptance of this apology, wondering what she meant about his 'signal.' Simon chose that moment to intercede. With a small torch he checked her pupil reflexes and did a few tests for concussion. Having heard Zephyr's story, Book decided to clear the small infirmary a little, and ushered Zoe, Jayne and Kaylee out to wait in the area just outside. River remained peering in the doorway.

'You remain remarkably uninjured,' stated Simon, having finished his tests, 'although you will be very sore for the next week or so.'

'Everything moves, the wheel turns, but relative to a firefly, she was half a g too slow. ' River let this out at a rapid fire mutter. 'So that would be what, five hundred kilometres and hour?' asked Zephyr, a wince in her voice. River nodded sympathetically.

'Get lots of rest' said Simon firmly.

'No argument here. They don't let you have sleep-ins at that place'

'We dock at Persephone in four days. We'll let you off there.' The captain's tone brooked no argument, but River let out a mewl of protest and Inara narrowed her eyes at him.

'I'm not turning this boat into a half-way house for alliance fugitives' he said in response, stalking out of the infirmary, heading for the bridge to check with Wash on how _Serenity _was doing. Simon glanced at Zephyr and gave her an apologetic shrug. 'It don't worry me doc- I'm not looking to be a burden on no one. Just wanted to live in the type of world where they don't stick needles in your eyeballs.'

'I'm going to leave yo in here to get some rest now. I'll give you a smoother to help with the pain.' Zephyr nodded assent and he gave her the shot. Exiting the infirmary with Inara, he closed the door and looked at the people he shared the ship with.

'She'll be fine. The smoother means she'll be sleeping for the next four hours at least.'

-

To Be Continued.


	2. Of Cabbages and Kings

Chapter Two- Of Cabbages and Kings

-

Although Simon was right about Zephyr being fine, four hours was a very low estimate. Twelve hours into Zephyr's long slumber, the crew started to get worried that perhaps she had slipped into a coma. Simon dutifully informed them that he was monitoring her brainwave patterns and vital signs and she was, in fact, just sleeping. He hooked her up to a nutrient drip and ship life went on around the sleeping girl in the infirmary.

It was Kaylee that first saw her awake again, when she went in to get a weave for a grazed knee. As she banged through the drawers, finally pulling out what she was looking for, Zephyr's eyes opened and she flinched away from the noise. 'Hey there sleepy head.' Kaylee beamed at the sleepily awake girl as she sat up and blearily rubbed her eyes, calming down as she realised she wasn't in any immediate danger.

'Hey' replied Zephyr, her voice crackly from lack of use. Looking around the infirmary she blinked a few times and yawned. 'What this?' she asked, indicating the needle in her arm that was attached to a bag of clear liquid. 'Nutrient drip. You've been asleep for going on a day now.'

'Wow. Guess I was tired.' Looking thoughtful for a second, she crossed her legs under the blanket and added; 'aaaand I really need to pee.'

Kaylee grinned and pulled out a draw to reveal that it was, in fact, a toilet. 'Do you need help?' she asked, suddenly concerned. 'Think I can manage. Thanks' came the reply. The mechanic nodded and went to stand outside the closed door to give her some privacy. She took a while, but eventually slid the doors open and hobbled out, her long sleeve pulled down over where the drip had been.

'Ugh, I feel like I've slammed into a wall' she joked. Kaylee winced sympathetically.

'Here sweetie' Kaylee offered her an arm for support, which she gratefully accepted. Slowly they made their way up to the mess area, arriving as the others started to gather for dinner. The sight of a tentative and rumpled Zephyr hobbling into the mess bought a small cheer out of Wash. She smiled at the reaction. Book, River, Mal and Jayne were also in the kitchen. Kaylee helped her to sit down, beaming with helpful happiness.

'What time is it?' asked Zephyr running a hand through messy blond hair. 'Food time,' answered Jayne, 'Shepherd, what's takin' so long?'

'Patience is a virtue. The cabbage just needs to boil for another few minutes.' Jayne made a face. River sat to the left of Zephyr, with Kaylee flanking her on the right. 'We're going to be short on for chairs' pointed out the blond pilot. 'Nah, we're right. Inara's not eating with us right now, and we can bring up a crate from the cargo bay later if we need to.' The captain waved it away, taking his usual seat at the head of the table. Zephyr and River ignored this exchange.

Sitting next to Zephyr on her other side, Kaylee watched curiously as the two girls each held up their right hands, matching them palm to palm. 'Sister' whispered River. A brief wind stirred in eternally windless mess. 'Sister' confirmed Zephyr. They continued to look into each other's eyes for a few moments, before dropping their hands and each looking away, to discover that everyone else in the kitchen was now staring at them.

'What?' asked Zephyr. River looked equally innocent. 'Dinner's ready' said the shepherd as the pot boiled over. Simon and Zoe walked in and the moment was broken. Book moved to tend to the food

Dinner was the usual rowdy affair, save that the conversation was centred around introductions, and rehashing old stories. The crew enjoyed telling their adventures to someone that had not been there at the time, and Zephyr was a good audience, although she seemed perpetually wary and any sudden movement on behalf of his crew would cause her to flinch. Mal watched her closely, his eyes shrewd even as he comically retold the story of his rescue from Niska led by his brave crew. There was something going on between her and River too. It was indefinable, but his instincts told him it was there, and they were something he had learnt to trust.

Another thing he had learnt to trust was Wash's insatiable curiosity. Predictable as sunrise, he soon breached the subject that everyone secretly wanted to ask about.

'So what are the full extent of you superpowers?' he asked the girl after Mal's story wound up and received the appropriate hail of laughter and retorts. She cast her eyes downwards and there was a moment's silence. 'It's hardly a superpower' started Zephyr, and Wash breathed a quiet sigh of relief, that he was not poking his nose in somewhere delicate.

'Seems pretty superpowery to me' replied Jayne. Zephyr laughed shyly. 'No, I just... it's weird sometimes, thinking that other people can't do it. I don't think they ever figured out why I can. When I'm not all run down like this, hopping from place to place is as easy as breathing. I do it in my sleep sometimes.'

'A worrying new twist to sleep walking' interceded Wash.

'And the energy stealing?' asked the captain, not wanting to start a fight, yet wary that this girl could be very dangerous. 'Not a thing I do in my sleep' replied Zephyr quickly. 'At.... that place, they try to turn anything into a weapon. I don't want to hurt people. Be made to hurt people. The energy stealing is another instinctive thing, but I've never actually done it before. At least I don't think I have.'

'That's pretty vague.'

'Like I said, my memories were stolen.' Mal nodded at this explanation, and the conversation moved on to other topics, namely a debate over which superpower would be the best to have. They pretended not to notice the way she ladled second and third helpings onto her plate, eating ravenously as though half starved to death.

Conversation flowed easily between them, and by the time the food was finished, the new girl had even begun to relax slightly

Even though her stay on _Serenity_ would only be brief, Book helped her to set up a room in the passenger quarters, in the empty room opposite his. Returning to the mess area, pretty much everyone stayed up long into the night, talking and playing Chinese checkers. Zephyr didn't know the game, but Inara (who had appeared an hour or so after dinner had ended), tutored her to a stunning victory (OK, so it was only over Jayne, but it was a victory none the less). Finally, Simon declared that she needed to rest, and the party began to break up.

As usual, the captain was last to bed; stalking _Serenity's_ passages long after the rest of her occupants had succumbed to sleep. Having got used to working on three hours sleep a day during the war, he just didn't feel tired enough to lay his head down so he decided to do an inventory on some of their supplies. One of the passenger rooms had been taken over as supply storage area long ago, so that was where he headed now.

As boring as the work was, it needed to be done, and since he wasn't sleeping... After an hour or so, the crates of food and other miscellaneous parts had been checked through and re-stowed neatly away. Standing and brushing his hands off on his pants, he yawned and stepped out of the room, sleep was now looking like a pretty good option.

Stumbling along the corridor past Book and Zephyr's rooms, he nearly jumped out of his skin when a mind rending scream tore through the air. Regathering his wits, he pinpointed the source of the noise and slid open the door into the room where the new girl was sleeping. The scream came again, and Mal made out the struggling form of Zephyr on the bed, fighting the nightmares in her head.

Flicking the lights on he quickly strode across to her, and, taking her by the shoulders, shook her gently. Quicker than a blink, a fist flew towards him but the captain saw it coming and caught it easily. In the next moment the lanky girl was fully awake, shaking with eyes wide. Registering Mal's presence, she looked down at where her small fist was being stopped by his open palm then quickly dropped her hand.

'Sorry' she said, eyes down-cast. She was wearing a pair of Kaylee's pyjamas. Mal noticed the way the girl was still shaking and, making a decision, sat on the edge of the bed. It was masterful, the way in which her shift away from him seemed simply as though she was making room on the small bed, but it did not go unnoticed by the captain.

'Want to talk about it?' he asked anyway, knowing that when nightmares were put out in the open, sometimes the silliness could banish the fear. Zephyr shuddered and shook her head. Trying for another tact, Mal tipped his head on one side. 'Do you know about the unification war?' he asked.

_Everyone_ knew about the unification war. Everyone that hadn't been locked down in a government institution. And somehow, knowing that she wouldn't know made it easy to talk. As he had thought, she shook her head, finally glancing up at him, ready for a story.

'Six years ago, there was a huge war. It was the independents against the alliance. You can probably guess who won. It wasn't that easy to see the outcome from the start. But I didn't sign up because I thought the independents would be the winning side, I signed up for what I believed in. Thing is though, when you're waist high in shit, having shells rained on you in a trench that's been cut off from supply, that belief is bound to get a mite shaky. And when you close your eyes, 'cause if you don't you will drop where you stand, belief don't hold the images of your best friend's corpse at bay.'

'Makes being cut up like a guinea pig sound like a walk in the park.'

'That ain't what I'm saying. Let me finish,' he berated her lightly, allowing a quick smile to his lips. 'What I'm saying is, at one time or another, most people will find the place that is their hell. Some do it on their own, pushed by foolish beliefs; some are dragged there by others. And that place will always be with you from then on. It'll come back to haunt you; when you think you finally pushed it down far enough to forget it, you'll wake up screaming.'

'Not being so comforting here' joked Zephyr shakily. 'Nah, I'm not am I' agreed Malcolm. Looking thoughtful for a second, an idea came to him. 'Wanna show you something, do you mind if I pick you up? It's just that the deck plates get at bit cold'

Zephyr shrugged indifference, so, standing up, Mal scooped her up, blanket and all. Shuffling her a bit in his arms, he opened the door to her room and stepped sideways out into the corridor. Not bothering to shut the door again, he headed towards the bow. Even with the blanket, Zephyr was unbelievably light. They rule all the 'verse and yet can't afford to feed their experiments well, he thought bitterly.

The dark ship was silent as she ever was, a background hum of engines something that her captain didn't even hear anymore. Finally stepping up onto the bridge, he was rewarded by a gasp from Zephyr. She seemed to have been rendered speechless from the burning array of stars that frosted the black before her. 'What I was really trying to say was,' Mal said, 'is that until you've found your hell, you can't appreciate your heaven. And then the nightmares can't touch you, because you open your eyes, and you know... you know that you got this'

Glancing down to the bundle in his arms, the radiant smile on Zephyr's face told him that he'd got it right. She couldn't tear her eyes from the star scape, but she shifted slightly in his arms, and managed to breathe a 'thankyou.' After a minute or so, Mal shook himself at the slight trance he had fallen into staring out of the windscreen. 'C'mon. If I don't get you back to bed, Simon'll crucify me.'

'Thought you were the captain' commented Zephyr, looking at him for the first time since they had entered the bridge. 'That I may be, but mutinies have been known to happen. 'Sides, if I make Simon unhappy, then little Kaylee gets unhappy, and then the boat'll cease to work, so back to bed with you.' As he spoke he turned to head back to the aft of the boat, Zephyr briefly craning her neck to keep the stars in sight, before sighing and resting her head against the captain's chest, for the first time, relaxing completely in his presence.

She was almost dozing by the time he got her back to her room, so he tucked her in and retreated from the room without a sound. Feeling strangely content, he headed towards his own bed; finally ready to turn in for the night.

-

To be continued.


	3. Of boiling seas and flying pigs

Chapter Three- Of Boiling Seas and Flying Pigs

Between tucking her into bed that night and when they made port three days later, Mal never saw Zephyr so vulnerable again. She was a tough kid. Beyond tough in fact, because that morning, Simon herded her into the infirmary. The captain wandered in during the check-up and was stuck dumb. Zephyr was lying on her stomach on the exam table; her shirt rucked up to reveal the badly bruised mess of her back.

'Jesus!' exclaimed Mal, falling back a step. Zephyr's head jerked up from where it had rested upon her crossed arms, but when she saw who it was, she settled slightly and calmly returned his shocked gaze. Simon removed the stethoscope from where he had been listening and straightened, removing the device from his ears and pulling the girl's shirt down. 'Something you wanted captain?' asked the doctor, being annoyed as politely as possible.

'How is it, that you ain't dead?' Mal asked of Zephyr, completely ignoring Simon.

'Being in the academy, you develop an immunity to death.' she replied. Mal shook his head at this- all he could think of was of the pain she must have been in when he picked her up last night.

'It's just the bruises coming to the surface. They'll be gone within a week.' Simon was as calm about it as Zephyr and Mal began to get a hold of his initial reaction. 'Thankyou, that'll be all' he said to Zephyr, allowing her to hop down off the examination table. She stood for a moment, straightening her shirt, which had also been borrowed off Kaylee. The little mechanic had happily given her a whole heap of clothing, quashing all protests by saying that this gave her a reason to go out and get some new clothes. Just like River often did though, she stayed shoeless.

'Thanks doc' she mumbled, not looking at Simon. She was hiding it well, but Mal could still pick up on that edginess in her. 'Since everything's fine in here, I guess I'll go and check up on Wash then' he excused himself, turning and heading for the bridge to free up the doorway so Zephyr could leave the infirmary, a place that the captain guessed to be feeding her nervousness.

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In the short time the new girl spent on the ship, Kaylee, Inara and River could often be found in her presence. Kaylee she became fast friends with, as was often the case with anyone who came within shouting distance of the mechanic. She joined in the silly games that River and Kaylee would play to pass away the long days in the black. Inara more became a tutor to the girl- having lost her memory put her at a significant disadvantage to the rest of the world. She was unaware of recent historical events, something that put her in danger should she drop an inadvertent remark that the wrong person found offensive.

The captain stumbled in upon one of these 'catch up' sessions on the third day. He stood outside the door to the shuttle for a moment before he entered, to make sure he wasn't intruding on anything too private. His stubbornness did not permit him to knock, but that didn't mean he couldn't be discreet about things.

'-why do people drink it so much then if it's so disgusting?' That was Zephyr, a kind of appalled curiosity in her voice. Mal could hear the smile in Inara's reply.

'It is an ancient tradition. Besides, you really do learn to like the taste.'

Sliding the door open, he entered. The two women were sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing each other over an intricate tea set. They each held a cup in their hands, although the brown liquid in Zephyr's looked barely touched. They both looked up at him upon his entry, Zephyr's expression slightly more benevolent than that of the companion's.

'Inara, Simon wants to know if you've got any Ezernepantinane in your supplies.'

'What would he want it for?' asked Inara, her brow forming into a puzzled frown. A quick smile flickered across Mal's face. An Inara that was pondering on Simon's motives was an Inara that was not giving him a tongue lashing for entering her shuttle.

'Probably something to do with River. You know the boy.' Inara narrowed her eyes for a moment at his explanation then gracefully rose and crossed to a small cabinet, sorting through it for what she was looking for.

'He's trying to cure her' commented Zephyr quietly. Mal's gaze snapped onto her. Inara too, paused in her sorting for a moment, but otherwise did not turn or show any sign that the words had affected her.

'He's a very loyal brother that one' replied Mal.

'He woulda have to a been, to get her out of that place without using a small army.'

'Had good security did they?' asked the captain casually. Zephyr let out a half snort of agreement. Inara found what she was looking for and crossed to hand it to Mal.

'Simon would worship the ground you walk on if you could help him with getting her better' suggested the captain casually, taking the small bottle of medicine from Inara without comment. Zephyr's reply quashed any hopes he may have had though. 'I only ever met her a few times before, when we were being moved from place to place at the same time and happened to pass in the corridors.'

'It's alright' Inara assured her. Zephyr dropped her head to stare into her tea cup that she still held cradled in two hands. The companion glanced meaningfully at Mal, and he shifted for a moment. 'Yeah, don't worry about it. He's smart, should figure it out sooner or later. You never know, this might be the cure' he held up the tiny bottle between two fingers then ducked out of the shuttle. Just when he thought he'd gotten away with it without a hindrance, Inara's voice drifted after him.

'Knock next time.'

This prompted a grin from Mal as he strolled on down to the infirmary

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Poking her head out of the shuttle for a moment to make sure that he was not going to attempt to eavesdrop, Inara slid the door closed, and returned to her place opposite Zephyr. It was strange, but the girl seemed more relaxed after the visit from the captain. Any time Inara had witnessed an exchange between her and the rest of the crew previously- especially the men- Zephyr had tensed up.

They both sat in silence for a moment, Zephyr taking a tentative sip of her tea, the face she made as she swallowed prompting a laugh from the companion.

'What do you think of the captain?' asked Inara, deciding to be direct. Zephyr raised her green eyes to the ceiling, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. Her utter, serious, honesty over every question made Inara smile.

'He's nice.' Zephyr commented finally, as though imparting great and much considered wisdom. Despite her confirming body language, the admission threw Inara slightly. People very rarely liked the captain upon first meeting him, unless he was turning on the charm, and that usually only happened when he was buttering up a customer.

'Nice?' she prodded, looking for more of an answer. Zephyr's attraction didn't seem like a crush of any sort, she just genuinely... liked Mal. 'Jayne don't seem very... But the captain's a good man. He made the nightmares go away.'

'Did he just?' commented Inara. Zephyr simply nodded innocently, not noticing the slight hint of something else in the companion's tone. Inara would be having a talk with Mal at some point about this. Even if Saffron had only been feigning it to steal their ship, Mal did seem to inspire attraction in young girls. It was beginning to be a sore spot with Inara. She decided not to examine her own motivations on the subject too carefully.

'How about you?' asked Zephyr suddenly, more for something to say than anything else. Inara blinked at her surprised. The girl returned her stare patiently. 'He's...' began Inara, wondering how to phrase the relationship between them. She gave up. 'It's complicated.'

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. It didn't take a companion to see just what 'complicated' meant.

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That afternoon Kaylee offered to teach Zephyr how to play jacks. Having very little else to do, Zephyr agreed. The mechanic commandeered River for an example game, and the three of them set up the game on the floor in a secluded corner of the cargo bay.

River had been in quite a lucid mood all that day- perhaps due to the new cocktail of drugs Simon had her on- so she chatted happily with Kaylee as the two of them took turns to bounce the coloured ball then pick up the odd shaped pieces. Zephyr watched intently, to the point of making Kaylee slightly uncomfortable. Her fingers fumbled and the game ended, River triumphantly gathering her spoils to her (which consisted for the moment of the ball and the jacks).

'See, it ain't too hard to pick up. Do you wanna have a go?'

Zephyr worried her lip between her teeth for a moment then nodded. River was persuaded to give the jacks back and shuffled to one side to allow Zephyr to join the circle around the spread pieces.

Kaylee started, bouncing the ball and nimbly picking up one jack. 'It takes a while,' she said, as she bounced the ball again and gathered two jacks, 'to get the hang of it,' bounce, one, two, three, 'but once you get it,' bounce, one, two, three, four, 'you can have a go at my record,' bounce one, two, three, four, bounce, 'damn.' Kaylee grinned in defeat, spreading the jacks again and handing the ball to Zephyr. The blond girl frowned thoughtfully and rolled the small coloured rubber ball between her fingers for a moment.

Taking a deep breath she bounced it, her hand shooting out to pick up one jack before she caught the ball again. 'That was real good' Kaylee encouraged her, pleased with how quick the girl's fingers had been. Another two bounces and Kaylee stopped with the encouragement. Zephyr didn't need it. She had faster hands than the mechanic had ever seen before. Blink, and you would miss the flurry of movement that happened after the bounce of that little ball.

Calmly, with her tongue sticking slightly out of the corner of her mouth, Zephyr made it up to seven. On the eighth bounce, even her super-fast fingers couldn't scramble quite enough. Kaylee blinked after the flurry of movement ended; taking a moment to realised the ball hadn't landed again. Zephyr sat back slowly, biting her bottom lip to keep from grinning. Kaylee shook her head and blinked again, trying to make her eyes see sense.

Curiously, like a little child, River reached out one hand and plucked the ball from where it was spinning in the air, surrounded by a tiny, contained gale of raging winds. 'Sorry about that' said Zephyr, finally managing to fight back the laughter that was threatening to bubble up her throat. River frowned at the ball, and bounced it once experimentally.

'Wow, that's shiny' breathed Kaylee, her face glowing with amazement. The young mechanic wasn't one to cold-shoulder people for having different abilities. 'They told me it was to do with moving matter around. I don't actually have to do anything but think about it and the air gets all excited.'

Deciding the ball was now going to behave and let gravity apply to it, River began her turn.

'They taught me to control it, and now it's kinda instinctive whenever something starts falling and I don't want it to.'

'How about those super-fast finger of yours?' asked Kaylee, half watching River's go to see if she would beat four. Zephyr shrugged. 'Maybe I was a pick-pocket 'fore I got took.'

River did make it to four, and now Kaylee fell silent to watch her make the attempt for five. It wasn't looking good for River; the remaining jacks were quite spread out. At least that's what Kaylee thought.

'River!' exclaimed the mechanic in exasperation. 'You two have got to promise to stop using your super-powers 'gainst me, else I got no chance of beating you in jacks.'

Once again, the ball had ceased its downward descent and was spinning gently in midair. Frowning in concentration, River slowly gathered five jacks then let the ball drop. 'Zephyr cheated, why can't I?' she asked belligerently.

'That was accidental sister. Kaylee's right; 'taint fair doing things like that when you're competing against normal folk.'

River pouted and handed the ball to Kaylee. 'Doing things like what?' asked a soft feminine voice as Inara stepped around the side of the crate that game was secluded behind. 'Oh, hey Inara. River and Zephyr were just showing off their special academy tricks.'

Inara smiled and gathered her flowing robes around her so she could sit in on the circle, between Zephyr and Kaylee. 'What tricks are these?' she asked, looking from Zephyr to Kaylee to River expectantly. The three girls shared a secret glance, then Zephyr picked the ball up. 'I can pick up all of the jacks in one go' she explained. Inara looked at the multitude of small pieces spread on the floor and raised an eyebrow. Smiling, Zephyr released the ball in mid-air and, hands blurring with speed, gathered up every single one of the jacks. The ball bounced. As Kaylee had done, Inara blinked. She showed no other signs of shock, but vary carefully, not taking her eyes off where the trick had occurred, she asked; 'did that ball just...'

'Float?' filled in Kaylee for her. 'Isn't it shiny Inara?' she asked the companion enthusiastically.

'Yes. It's amazing. Thankyou for showing me that' she graced Zephyr with a radiant smile, quickly managing to break out of her shock.

'River can do it too' bubbled Kaylee, eager to show Inara everything she had just discovered. Inara looked to River expectantly, now less doubtful, and ready to be impressed. River shook her head innocently. 'You imagined it.' She told Kaylee primly. Zephyr had to muffle a giggle behind her hand. 'Imagined what sweetie?' asked Kaylee craftily.

'The boiling seas. Space is cold you know.'

Kaylee shrugged at Inara apologetically as River began to hum a little tune. 'That's OK River,' said the companion carefully, 'you don't have to try to compete with Zephyr, we still love you.'

This got a rise out of River. Her dark gaze snapped onto the companion, making Inara jump slightly. The air tingled around them, and Inara had to throw her hands up to defend against the sudden rain of jacks. Making a small 'hmpf' sound, River rose and flounced off. The three remaining women watched her go with no small amount of shock.

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River had already recovered from her tantrum by the time Kaylee went to find her, and the three girls were all friends again by dinner time that night. They sat, with River in the middle, down one side of the table, and shared small jokes as they passed the bowls of food back and forward. The captain noticed the new found camaraderie and sent a questioning glance in Inara's direction. The companion smiled indulgently and returned his look with an 'I'll tell you later' one of her own. Settling for this as the best he was going to get for the moment, he asked Wash as to the status of their schedule.

The pilot frowned slightly before answering. 'We're about right,' he started, 'maybe an hour or so off course. There's been some weird interference with the instruments today.'

Kaylee, River and Zephyr shared a secret filled glance, which, unfortunately for them, was transparent to everyone else sitting around the table. 'Zephyr' said the captain, his tone of voice making her flinch guiltily. 'Yes sir?' she asked, looking at him with an almost painful mixture of innocence and hope.

'You mentioned when you first blinked in here, about _Serenity _not being on course any more.'

'Using my powers causes electro-magnetic interference' she supplied, somehow maintaining her innocent facade.

'So you wouldn't know anything about Wash's glitches would you?'

'Yes sir.'

Mal blinked. Judging on how coy the three girls had been acting, he would have accepted more resistance than that. 'And?'

'I was showing River and Kaylee some things before; it may have interfered with the instruments.'

'Well then...' Mal was slightly at a loss as for what to say. 'Try not to do it unless absolutely necessary when we're flying.'

With a 'yes sir;' from Zephyr, the conversation resumed. The captain glanced again at Inara; he had gotten into the habit of using her as a sort of lie detector. She shrugged at him and turned her attention to her food. Frowning, Mal decided he definitely needed her to explain this to him later.

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This discussion happened that evening after the after-dinner cleanup routine had occurred and everyone had pretty much wandered off on their own business. Mal and Inara sat facing each other, each nursing a cup of substitute hot chocolate. Inara had just told the captain about Zephyr's most recent feat, and River's previously unheard of power. Mal was thinking on it reflectively, wondering if it really changed how he thought about Simon's little sister.

'Zephyr's very attached to you, you know,' started Inara, breaking the silence. Mal's head shot up at the comment. 'She's what now?'

The companion sighed. 'Honestly. You'd have to be blind not to see it.' Mal's eyes narrowed at the comment. Inara rolled her eyes and put her cup down so she could count it out on her fingers.

'She calls you sir, she admitted to me that she thinks you're 'nice,' which is an almost unheard of thing for anyone that has just met you,' Mal made a sound of token protest at that point but she continued regardless, 'and she admits upfront about using her powers when it was likely to get her in trouble.'

'So? She's obedient. It'll come from living in a government institution.'

'It's not just that Mal'

'Fine, whatever. It doesn't matter either way. She's getting off at Persephone.'

'Mal...'

'You and Kaylee seem to have developed a fondness for keeping any strays that wander onto _Serenity._ Let me phrase it this way; you keep this one, and the others have to go.'

Draining the last dregs out of his cup, he slammed it down on the table and stalked out of the mess. Inara watched him go, lips pursed.

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They set down on Persephone more or less when Wash had predicted. Zephyr had a small bundle of possessions ready packed, which every member of the crew had found something to donate to. Kaylee had given clothes, Zoe a warm, water-proof cloak that was easy to be inconspicuous in, Wash a little souvenir- one of his colourful plastic dinosaurs. Despite Inara's protests, Jayne had given Zephyr a small knife and sheath. And despite Jayne's protests, the captain had provided the girl with a small pouch of platinum, enough to get her food and board for a few days, until she could find work somewhere.

Before they could all say their goodbyes to Zephyr though, came the reason they had come to Persephone- work. The buyer for the set of crates in their hold had arranged to pick them up for himself, so Zoe and Mal were meeting him in the hold.

It turned out that this buyer was a skittish one, and one of the conditions of the sale was that Mal and Zoe meet him alone and unarmed for the goods transfer. Since it would be on his own ship with his crew near, Mal was happy to agree, and ordered everyone else except Wash (The pilot was up on the bridge, getting in contact with Badger to see if he had any work for them) to sit in the area outside the infirmary whilst the deal went down. It was close enough to hear any major disturbances, but far enough away that the buyer wouldn't be spooked.

In the passenger lounge, Jayne, Book and Simon set up a game of cards, Kaylee, River and Zephyr one of jacks. Inara watched the jacks, still amazed at Zephyr's super-fast fingers. They had developed a game that involved handicapping her, since there was no competition otherwise.

All was peaceful for a good while and Jayne began to stack up on the little pieces of paper that they used as chips.

Then there was a flicker at Jayne's side and a sudden wind swirled once around the area where they were all sitting. Kaylee looked with trepidation at where Zephyr had been sitting. 'Uh, Jayne?' she started.

'What Kaylee?' asked Jayne, not looking up from the game of cards he was winning with Book and the doctor. She didn't need to reply because in the next moment the impossible wind registered, and his head shot up. Dropping his cards he too looked for a girl that was no longer there. 'Where'd she go?' he demanded. 'The captain'll kill us if she stuffs up the deal.'

'Your gun is missing' pointed out the shepherd. Jayne's hand flew to the empty holster as he surged to his feet. 'No' said River, in a quiet voice that somehow stopped everyone in their tracks. 'Wanna tell us where she is moon-brain? Otherwise keep your mouth shut.' Jayne's voice was almost a snarl, and Simon moved to stand between the mercenary and his sister. She held him back with a look. Jayne and River now stood facing one another across the small area outside the infirmary, with River standing between Jayne and the door to the cargo bay. A challenge crackled in their gaze.

'Deal's lost anyway; the bad man's sidling, doesn't want to pay. He's got Patience, got her in his intentions.'

'Got no time for this gibberish' cursed Jayne roughly and pushed past the small girl, heading in the direction she was protecting on general principles. A second later he nearly ran smack bang into Mal, who entered from the cargo bay, Zoe and Zephyr on his heels. 'Where you goin' in such a hurry Jayne?' asked the captain mildly. Jayne's response was to glare suspiciously at the blond girl that was standing to the right of and slightly behind Mal. She refused to meet his stare and shifted uneasily.

The captain tossed something towards him with an easy lob. He caught it without thinking. Looking at the object in his hand, he blinked as he recognised his gun.

'What just happened?' asked Simon, since Jayne appeared to be dumbstruck. River had sat meekly back next to him upon the appearance of the captain.

'Our edgy customer decided it might be better if no one knew that his cargo had ever existed. He was fixing to shoot us both when Zephyr here appeared behind him and cocked a gun to the back of his neck. He paid up right smart and left with his cargo. I think perhaps we owe you' he addressed the last sentence to Zephyr who had stood as impassively as the captain's second in command through the explanation. She paused for a moment, unsure what to say.

'I've guzzled down quite a lot of your food over the past few days.' She replied, not really desiring payment for something she reckoned as a basic service.

'We consider out lives to be worth a fair bit more than a few kilos of protein,' countered the shepherd. Zephyr shrugged, starting to get embarrassed. 'What I want to know,' butted in Wash, 'is how you knew that you were needed.' She glanced at River, that single look telling the crew all of what they needed to know.

'She...uh, I...' Zephyr made a helpless gesture towards a serenely smiling River.

'Some of it can't be quantified' murmured Simon's sister. The focus of the room shifted to her, but she seemed disinclined to say any more.

The captain decided that now would be a good time to present his offer to her. The feeling among the crew was pretty much that Zephyr wouldn't be so bad to keep around. He had been opposed to it, but her latest stunt bought up all sorts of ideas as to her usefulness. And she was much easier to hide than Simon or River- should they get intercepted by the alliance, she could be gone in an instant.

'Look kid,' started Mal. He didn't get any further. Zephyr turned towards him with a smile that was filled with heartbreaking sadness.

'I can't stay, I'm sorry. I want to see the world.'

Mal blinked, once again not having anticipated her answer.

'It's a hard place. You'd be safer sticking with us for a bit.' This was Inara, her eyes radiating compassion. She had been giving Mal the cold shoulder since their argument over letting Zephyr stay on board. Zephyr just shook her head, then turned without a word and headed back out to the cargo bay. Inara shared a look with Mal, before he followed her, Zoe then Kaylee in close behind.

In the cargo bay, Zephyr crossed to where her small bundle of possessions had been stowed next to the small door into the airlock, and, swinging it over her shoulder, paused to face the crew that had lined up facing her.

'I can, uh, come back and visit. If you strap a mattress vertically to... say, there.' She indicated one of the walls of the cargo bay. 'I could jump in here and the impact wouldn't be too bad.'

'Will do' Mal assured her. His face was closed off. Wash clumped his way down the stairs, moving quick to make it in time for the goodbyes. Kaylee stepped forward to embrace the slender girl as Wash slipped his hand into Zoe's. Zephyr seemed uncertain as to how to respond to the hug for a moment but then she relaxed and hugged Kaylee back.

'Don't be a stranger you' Kaylee told her firmly. Zephyr nodded sombrely. Jayne began to clean his nails with his knife, not particularly interested. 'You got the contacts I gave you for findin' work?' Wash double-checked. Once again Zephyr nodded.

'Good travels' Book wished her. Zephyr smiled at all of them, then hefted her possessions a little higher on her shoulder and turned to go. River chose that moment to dance forward. Simon made a move to go after her, but stopped himself.

Again the crew witnessed the strange little ritual that they had seen between the two girls when Zephyr had first sat down at the dinner table. They each held up their palms, as though they wanted to measure hand sizes, only not touching. This time the wind that stirred was almost a gale.

Mal squinted against the flying dust being blown into the ship through the open airlock door to see. Smiling, Zephyr turned again, and glided out of sight, heading out into the bustle of the Eavestown docks. The wind settled, leaving weird patterns of reddish dust on the floor of the bay.

The crew seemed carved out of stone, as each one of them stood in their spots, considering the girl that had just left them. It made a strange tableau in the cargo bay, with River closer to the door than the rest, hands hanging limply at her sides.

'Strange kid that one' commented the captain finally. Jayne snorted in agreement.

The End


End file.
